"Ah, I went too far," River muttered, his voice flat, almost disappointed in himself as he gazed at the broken figure sprawled across the ground.
The archer was barely conscious. He lay on his back amidst the debris, limbs twitching, his breathing ragged and uneven. Blood pooled beneath him, seeping from the burns, lacerations, and punctures that marred his body. His clothes had been shredded in several places, revealing blistered skin and bone-deep gashes from the chain explosion of Bubble Bombs. One eye was swollen shut, and the other trembled as it stared at River with a volatile mixture of horror and disbelief.
Even with all the injuries, even while coughing up blood, the man's gaze remained locked on River. He couldn't understand it. This wasn't a monster, wasn't a boss-tier creature from the depths of an S-Rank dungeon—it was a fellow Hunter. Someone human. Yet River's calm, calculated power had left him utterly helpless.
